PINE BEACH — Investigators found drugs in the car that crashed into the side of a Pine Beach elementary school, killing the three occupants, according to sources.

Two sources close to the investigation into Thursday’s crash said the drugs were not of a quantity indicating they were intended to be sold as part of a distribution operation.

Deputy Chief Michael Mohel, spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, would not comment on whether drugs were found in the vehicle, a black 2011 Hyundai Accent registered to a relative of the driver, Matthew Budesa, 20, of Pine Beach.

Budesa was killed along with the front seat passenger, Kimberly Van Gorden, 20, of Beachwood and the back seat passenger, Matthew Witzgall, 21, of Toms River.

Mohel said Thursday the car was traveling at a high rate of speed before crashing into a side wall of the Pine Beach Elementary School some time between 4:30 a.m. and 6:45 a.m. that day. There were no indications the driver tried to stop the car before the collision.

Autopsies performed on Budesa and Van Gorden on Thursday listed multiple traumatic injuries as the cause of death, Mohel said. The cause of death has tentatively been listed as accidental.

Three dead in crash into Pine Beach Elementary SchoolDeputy Chief Michael Mohel of the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office describes the scene at the Pine Beach Elementary School where three young adults - two males and a female - were pronounced dead early this morning after the 2011 Hyundai Accent they were in crashed head-on and through a wall and into the school library at some point overnight. (2/3/2011) Star-Ledger video by Andrew Mills

An autopsy for Witzgall is scheduled for later today.

Mohel declined to address speculation on whether Budesa, who attended the K-5 school as a child, intentionally drove into the wall.

"Everything is on the table. We’re looking at everything. All avenues are being explored,’’ Mohel said.

The autopsy report will not be completed for another few weeks until the car is thoroughly examined and until investigators receive the results of toxicological tests on the victims.

"We are going through the car with a fine-tooth comb,’’ Mohel said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact prosecutor’s Detective John Hill at 732-929-2027.
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